1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to food storage containers, and more specifically to bakery boxes that incorporate removable plates and other tableware within various panels and parts of said bakery boxes.
2. Description of the Related Art
The following review of related art is intended to provide edifying examples of problems and pitfalls in the design and use of food storage containers from which independently useful subpanels and subparts can be extracted. The mention of these examples does not constitute an admission that any of the following methods or devices constitute prior art applicable to the present invention. The discussion of the references states what their authors assert, and the applicant reserves the right to challenge the accuracy and pertinency of any of the documents cited herein.
Consumers commonly purchase food items from bakeries, restaurants, pizzerias, and related vendors in which one or more of said food items are provided in a disposable container. Traditional food storage containers (e.g., cardboard pizza boxes, paperboard bakery boxes) function primarily to protect their food contents during storage and delivery. Some serve secondarily as decorative displays or advertising platforms. Food containers can protect their food contents in several ways, such as: by shielding the enclosed food items from unsanitary exposure to the environment, by protecting the food items from physical damage during handling or storage, by insulating the temperature of the food items, by providing a convenient means for transporting and delivering food items, and by providing temporary storage for the food items before and after serving.
In the pizzeria industry, manufacturers have incorporated perforations into the top and bottom panels of pizza boxes so that a consumer can disassemble the perforated panels into makeshift serving mats resembling “plates.” U.S. Pat. No. 7,051,919 to Walsh, filed Aug. 22, 2003, entitled “Convertible Pizza Box” is characteristic of pizza boxes that can be deconstructed into smaller boxes and/or flat serving platters. The Walsh invention comprises a cardboard blank (i.e., a piece of material cut and scored to conveniently fold into a box of specific dimensions) comprising a top portion and a bottom portion and intervening side portions which are folded to form a pizza box of standard dimensions. Either the top or bottom portions can be manually torn from the blank and folded on itself to yield tapered sub-boxes, or they can be torn into individual serving segments (makeshift “plates”) defined by score lines (i.e., perforations). The individual serving segments are flat and shaped as squares or triangles. Importantly, the original box is necessarily consumed (destroyed) when the user extracts from it either a sub-box or individual serving segments. U.S. Pat. No. 5,110,038 to Pantisano et. al, filed Apr. 16, 1991, entitled “Plate Forming and Break Down Pizza Box” provides similar features, only it deconstructs into round plates that can be torn or punched out of a top panel, plus it has perforations in the bottom panel to facilitate the breakdown of the box for easy disposal in a household trashcan. This invention further comprises a non-porous surface on the inside panel to prevent pizza grease from soaking through the punch-out serving segments, and for the manual creation of “rim bends” in the circular serving segments to partially mimic the beveled edges of actual plates. U.S. Pat. No. 5,476,214 to Fisk, Jr., filed Nov. 28, 1994, entitled “Pizza Box with Wedge-Shaped Break-Down Spatula Plates” provides a pizza box with a top panel that breaks down into a number of spatula-type trapezoidal plates. Instead of being cut directly into the box top, the perforated panel can also be included separately within the box as an inserted leaf under the top panel or above the bottom panel.
A major drawback of these inventions is that the perforations which yield the “plates” are positioned in the top and bottom panels of the pizza box, and therefore, the act of extracting the “plates” destroys the pizza box. Pizza is often consumed while hot and fresh and in a single sitting, so the destruction of the box is tolerable to a pizza consumer. However, this result is unsuitable for cakes and various pastries which are often eaten over many days during which the leftovers must be stored. Another drawback of the prior art is that perforations divide the top and bottom weight-bearing panels of the box and thereby weaken the integrity of the box, increasing the risk of a box inadvertently folding or tearing while the food item is inside. Cakes and pies can be heavier and more fragile than pizzas, making these pizza box innovations unsuitable for application to bakery boxes. A further shortcoming in the prior art is that serving platters directed towards pizza consumers provide a very limited benefit, since pizzas are typically eaten right out of the box, by hand, without plates or utensils. The combined prior art drawbacks, comprising the time and effort required for hungry patrons to deconstruct a pizza box to extract the serving platters, the added expense of the perforated boxes, the increased risk of accidental box collapse, and the limited utility or demand for pizza serving platters, helps explain why these inventions have not significantly penetrated the marketplace.
Different conditions apply specifically to the bakery industry and related trades (e.g., makers and distributors of pastries, cakes, ice-cream cakes, pies, catered foods, and specialty dessert items). The serving of these and other bakery-related foods typically involves tableware such as a fork or spoon; it often involves ice cream, sauces, frostings, loose condiments and crumbling or otherwise particularly “messy” ingredients that are not suitable for eating by hand; it commonly involves a large or rich food item which will not be completely eaten in one sitting and will therefore leave “leftovers” that require continued storage; it often involves a dessert item that is appropriate for long term storage and intermittent serving; and it often involves food items associated with sentimental occasions where consumers are more likely to assume a slightly higher price to obtain the benefits provided by a convertible box that includes extraneous or bonus features like extractable subpanels comprising plates and tableware in a range of shapes, sizes, construction qualities, and cost values. The prior art fails to provide bakery boxes that are specially adapted to contain such removable, useful subparts.
Bakery boxes have taller sidewalls than pizza boxes. Many varieties of bakery boxes distinctly incorporate windows comprising cellophane glued behind an aperture cut into the top panel and/or a sidewall panel. Windows that contiguously span two or more panels (sides, surfaces) of a box (e.g., the top panel and the front side panel) are sometimes called “wrap around” windows. Bakery boxes are often comprised of a thinner paperboard material compared to pizza boxes and other food storage containers. Common examples of commercially available bakery boxes are displayed on retail websites such as that of “PaperMart” and Mr. “TakeOutBags.” Several examples of prior art boxes that are amenable to the modifications claimed in the present invention follow below.
U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2009/0084706 to Keefe, JR., filed Sep. 28, 2007, entitled “Shipping and Display Container with Removable Cover and the Associated Container Blank,” the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein, describes general methods for forming a box from a blank. U.S. Pat. No. 8,083,125 to Vanhoutte, filed Mar. 19, 2008, entitled “Two-Piece Pastry Box,” the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein, describes a box with an extra panel (element 4) attached to the back wall. U.S. Pat. No. 7,464,855 to Glasgow, filed Dec. 29, 2006, entitled “Combo Box and Associated Blank,” the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein, describes a box with an internal compartment derived from additional panels that are included as extensions of the flap that folds to form the front side wall. U.S. Pat. No. 6,581,823 to De Beck filed Jan. 29, 2002, entitled “Pastry Tote with Handles,” the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein, provides an example of a foldable box with extended side panels that include further panels which fold into a handle element. U.S. Pat. No. 6,450,341 to Krupa et al., filed Feb. 9, 2001, entitled “Shipping and Baking Package for Food Items,” the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein, describes one or more panels or trays for holding individual food items intended to be shrink-wrapped for shipping and storage. The boxes of the present invention are intended to serve as an alternative to, or as an addition to, shrink-wrap for the protection, shipping, and storage of food items assorted within such holders and trays. U.S. Pat. No. 4,441,614 to Gulliver, filed Jan. 19, 1983, entitled “Front Loaded and Closed Carton with Hinged Top Cover,” the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein, describes a front loading windowed box with a hingedly attached top panel representing features common in the art of bakery box construction. U.S. Pat. No. 1,927,435 to Derst filed Feb. 23, 1933, entitled “Package for Frosted Cakes,” the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein, provides an example of box having a window in the top panel and including a structural insert that imparts rigidity to the box. U.S. Pat. No. 1,818,908 to Pouchain et al., filed Mar. 5, 1930, entitled “Ventilated Container,” the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein, provides a box with holes for ventilation. Boxes of related dimensions and folding patterns are compatible with the present invention, however, the present invention teaches against ventilation holes. The present invention may contain removable perforated subpanels within the top flap 7 of Pouchain, but not for ventilation and not in conjunction with holes 10 in an adjacent panel 2.
In light of the above, there exists a need for convertible bakery boxes that include plates, utensils, serving accessories, and any other tableware in their construction. Such bakery boxes should be amenable to the incorporation of see-through panels (“windows”) as are typically provided in bakery boxes known in the art, and said boxes should yield tableware which can be extracted or removed without necessarily destroying the boxes, thereby permitting their continued use as food storage containers. There exists a need for boxes that can accommodate high quality tableware and tableware comprising a variety of decorative features and disparate material compositions. The state of the art would be further improved if the number and size of subparts derived from a box were not strictly limited by the size and shape of the outer three dimensional geometry of the box.